1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to exercise apparatus for abdominal exercises while a user is in an upright seated position, and more particularly to such exercise apparatus permitting a plurality of different movements for the torso of the user for exercising various abdominal muscles.
2. Description Of Prior Art
Heretofore, exercise apparatus has been provided for exercising the abdominal muscles of a human torso while a user is seated on the apparatus. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,860 dated Mar. 29, 1988 discloses a rotary torso exercise machine or apparatus particularly for the upper torso of a user with a user locking his or her elbows around side bars and rotating the upper torso relative to the lower torso. U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,193 shows an exercise machine for exercising the abdominal muscles in a torso with the user gripping overhead handgrips and then moving in a rotary motion. Thus, the prior art illustrates the performance of a body exercise for a particular muscle or group of muscles in the abdominal area of a torso.
It is important for participants in many sports to have strong abdominal muscles and it is desirable to be able to isolate a particular muscle for exercise and/or development. Further, it is desirable to be able to exercise several abdominal muscle groups simultaneously or separately as selected.